About to buy the Panasonic TC-P55ST50 but then your forums....

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post #1 of 6

1/25/13 at 9:43am

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4 Posts. Joined 1/2013
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I was about to buy the Panasonic TC-P55ST50 at $1198 plus tax, then I started reading on here about the burn in, IR issues and DSE. To be honest I'm open to any HDTV, plasma or not, #D or not, but would like to stay around this price plus or minus a $200. Just want a good deal with a good television that has wifi ability. I'll mostly use it for Sports, News, some shows and movies. No gaming. The IR issue worries me since I'll leave the tv on espn for a while at a time and the scroll at the bottom I feel would burn on quickly. Any ideas for a new tv to purchase? Trying to take advantage of some of the deals before the super bowl. Sorry if I'm doing this wrong since I'm new here. Thanks for help.

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Panasonic VIERA TC-P55ST50 Plasma TV

More on Panasonic VIERA TC-P55ST50 Plasma TV
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post #2 of 6

1/25/13 at 10:33am

158 Posts. Joined 12/2011
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I have a 65ST50. I was worried about all that crap that I had read on here too. But fortunately I was able to separate the whiners* from the people with legitimate issues and the people with no issues at all. Once you get past that, the odds of being a 'no issues' person seem a lot higher. And now I have the best TV I've ever seen and have no issues with IR, DSE, etc. And that includes having ESPN on for most of a Saturday watching college football.

But, if the thought of IR scares you, the Samsungs may give you more peace of mind with arguably similar picture quality. Assuming that you're okay with buzzing.

* No offense to anyone on the use of "whiners", but there's a distinct difference between people with legitimate issues and people who really are on here just to whine and bring other people down with them.

post #3 of 6

1/25/13 at 2:46pm

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Thanks for the insight. I try to take things with a grain of salt but it still got me worrying. I came across the Panasonic TC-P55UT50 and read a cnet review that discussed little difference between it and the ST50. Well, little compared to the $400.00 price difference in my eyes, ($1198 vs. $799). Also, its at Costco which, minus throwing a brick through the tv, will return the tv no questions asked if I do come across issues. Any knowledge of that television?

post #4 of 6

1/25/13 at 2:54pm

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There are several threads that go into a lot more detail on ST vs UT (and pretty much any other versus you could want). Also, if you view any of the TVs on Amazon they have a really cool comparison chart of all the models and their features. The biggest thing for most people, I think, on the UT vs ST is that the UT doesn't have an anti-reflective filter. So unless you're in a mostly light controlled envrionment you can run into viewing issues. I've just picked that up from casual reading/retention, so take me with a grain of salt also.

If you search this forum for "ST vs UT", you can probably find a lot better info. Also, check the chart on Amazon, it helps.

And as you mentioned about Costco, regardless of which you get, try to get it from someplace where there won't be a lot of hassle to exhange/return/repair if there does turn out to be an issue. There's been more than one person on here that's given up on plasma and gone back to LCD/LED even knowing that they were sacrificing picture quality and gaining other/different issues.

post #5 of 6

1/25/13 at 2:57pm

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